Numerical investigation on high-temperature thermoacoustic heat pump with a work recovery displacer

Abstract

Spacecraft commonly dissipate heat into space through radiation. In the current development of spacecraft radiators, two major challenges are encountered: effective dissipation of heat in high-temperature environments and the heat waste by the thermal control system. Thermoacoustic heat pumps have emerged as a promising solution, capable of increasing the dissipating temperature of the radiators and reusing the waste heat. This paper presents a novel work-recovery thermoacoustic heat pump (WRTAHP) that incorporates a displacer, which serves the function of phase shifter and acoustic power recovery. One-dimensional numerical simulations are conducted to investigate the influence of the regenerator, thermal buffer tube, heat exchangers, and displacer on the system performance. The results reveal that WRTAHP can raise the temperature of waste heat sources from 50 °C up to 120 °C and obtain 511 W heating capacity with an overall relative Carnot efficiency of 56.4%. Furthermore, with the utilization of the heat pump, the surface area of the radiator is reduced to 60% of its original size. This work demonstrates the potential of WRTAHP for space applications.